Known medium carrying mechanisms of this type include for example the medium carrying mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 11-232527. The medium carrying mechanism of JP-A No. 11-232527 includes, between a left and right pair of side frames, a conveyor belt that faces in the up-down direction and that grips and conveys a banknote (medium), and a plate shaped medium guide that guides a conveyed medium and faces in the up-down direction.
In banknote accepting and dispensing apparatuses and the like, there are also carrying mechanisms, such as that disclosed in JP-A No. 08-268617, wherein in configuring a conveyance path a banknote (medium) is conveyed around a conveyor drum of comparatively large diameter. In the carrying mechanism of JP-A No. 08-268617 a conveyor belt that conveys banknotes is disposed so as to contact the periphery of a conveyor drum of large diameter supported by a shaft inside a casing (side frames), and a banknote fed out from a classification section is gripped between the conveyor belt and the conveyor drum. The banknote is conveyed around the conveyor drum by rotation of the conveyor belt.